Pride and Prejudice
'Pride and Prejudice' Pride and Prejudice is a British movie that is based off Jane Austen's novel under the same name. The film is a romantic drama that takes place in England during the Victorian Era. The film explores the developing love between two people from completly different working classes. 'Joe Wright' Director: Pride and Prejudice was filmed by British director, Joe Wright. Wright was born in London, and his parents owned a children's theater called Little Angels Theater where they filmed puppet shows. Wright did not enjoy school because he had Dyslexia, which made him fail most of his classes. But because Wright loved pahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austeninting and filming, he decided to attend art shcool. Wright originally filmed television shows, before he began filming Pride and Prejudice ("Joe Wright Bio"). Pride and Prejudice was his first movie that he filmed. He was not really looking to do Pride and Prejudice, but when he was sent the script he fell in love with it. Wright said," It felt like it was a true story; had a lot of truth in it about understanding how to love other people, understanding how to overcome prejudices, understanding the things that separate us from other people (Fetters)."There was an odd difference in Wright's tactics on filming the movie. He pretended that the film was a puppet show. For example, in the puppet sh ows the "witches dressed in red"; therefore the villain Caroline Bingley, always wore "green and red". Fear of failure also drove the director. He said, "Every morning during shooting I was crying my eyes out." W right cried every morning because of his fear of the movie failing. At first, Wright wanted someone plainer to play the lead heroine, Elizabeth Bennet. But, when he met Keira Knightly, he casted her because of her independe nt and tomboyish personality (Hoggard). Wright said that Pride and Prejudice ''was different from the movies that he planned on filming because it had a happy ending. Most of Wright's movies have had sorrwful endings, because of the pain he felt when his father died. His father was sixty five when he was born, so he did get to spend alot of time with his father before he passed away. Another difference in this movie, is that there is no kissing in any scenes of the movie, but this movie is full of romance and the air of sexuality. '''Plot' Jane, Elizabeth, Kitty, Lydia, and Mary Bennet the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. The Bennet family resides in the British country side, in their home called Netherfield. They do not have very much money and have to work to earn their living, but they are very tight knight and close. Mr. Bennet has a very calm and gentle personality and is more level- headed than his wife. He favors his second daughter Elizabeth, because of her strong- will. On the other hand, Mrs. Bennet is often silly, ridiculous, and over-dramatic. She is obsessed with marrying off her daughters to men. Jane Bennet is the eldest daughter. Jane is very quiet and shy. She is thought to be very beautiful because of her pretty face and blonde hair. Elizabeth has dark hair and is also very beautiful. She has is very independent minded and always speaks her mind. She is a very good friend and sister. Elizabeth shares a very close bond with her father and Jane. Kitty and Lydia are exactly like their mother. They are very over the top and are obsessed with getting married and going to fancy balls. They act like Tweedledumb and Tweedledee from Alice and Wonderland. Finally, Mary is very different from everyone in her family. She often wears all black clothing and spends her days playing the piano. She often complains a lot about how annoying Lydia and Kitty are. The plot begins when the rich and famous Bingley siblings come to town. Their names are Caroline and Mr. Bingley. He is looking for a wife, while Caroline is looking to get Mr. Darcy, their friend who has come along for the journey, affections. They are from high society and have a lot of money. The Bingley's throw a ball and all of the Bennets attend. Mr. Darcy attends the event with the Bingleys. Almost immediatly, Jane and Mr. Bingley find an indefinite attraction to each other and they dance with only each other all night long. Mr. Darcy meets all of the sisters at thr ball. He is not dancing and has a very "snobbish" air about him. At this ball, Elizabeth overhears Mr. Darcy talking about how ridiculous the whole Bennet is to Mr. Bingley. He also talks about how annoying and disagreeable he finds Elizabeth. Elizabeth swears to "loathe him for all eternity." The Bingley's throw another ball and once again everyone is dancing and having a blast. Lydia and Kitty act foolishly at the party, while Jane and Mr.Bingley dance together all night. Mr. Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance. She agrees and they have a very heated discussion while dancing. After the ball, the Bingleys leave town, leaving Jane broken hearted. After the Bingleys leave, Elizabeth goes and visits her newly wed friend Charlotte. Charlotte just married Mr. Collins, Elizabeth's cousin. Mr. Darcy is also staying with his wealthy aunt, Lady Catherine, who lives in the same area. Both families end up spending a lot of time together, and Mr. Darcy finds himself falling in love with Elizabeth. While she is there, Elizabeth finds out that Mr. Darcy encouraged Mr. Bingley to leave Jane, because her family was not proper enough. After she hears the dreadful news, Mr. Darcy proposes to her. She rejects his proposal and confronts him about what he did to Jane. He does not deny it. After she rejects his proposal, Mr. Darcy rights a letter explaining himself and that he was only trying to protect his friend. Elizabeth returns home to her family. Shortly, she leaves home again with her aunt and uncle. On their journey, the uncle and aunt take Elizabeth to Mr. Darcy's house. They did this without knowing Elizabeth and Darcy's history. While at his house, Elizabeth and Darcy talk again. After this they begin to spend more time together. Elizabeth gets a letter from Jane saying that Lydia has eloped with a British soldier. Not only that, but the family cannot find Lydia and do not know of her where-abouts. Elizabeth is heart-broken and returns home. After she gets home, Lydia is found and returns home with her husband. Lydia tells Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy paid money to cover up the scandelous elopment. After hearing this, Elizabeth begins to realize that Darcy is a good man and that she loves him. Darcy convinces Bingley that he was wrong and that he should marry Jane if he loves. Bingley comes to the Bennet home and proposes to her. Shortly after, Darcy declares his love to Elizabeth. He proposes to her and she accepts his proposal. The last scene shows Elizabeth and Darcy, married, and living happily in their house '"A Romance Ahead of its Time."' Pride and Prejudice cost twenty eight million dollars to make(Pride & Prejudice). While the movie was in theaters it made, 121,147,947 dollars world wide ("Pride and Prejudice (2005) - Box Office Mojo."). That year, Pride and Prejudice was #72 on movies that made the most money next year ("2005 DOMESTIC GROS SES."). This novel, written over two hundred years ago, placed on the top 100 movie list, because people look foward to happy endings. Even though Pride and Prejudice had Victorian styles, manners, etiquette, and lifest yles, people yearn for the love between Elizabeth and Darcy in their own lives. Deborah Moggach wrote an film adapation of the book in a span of two years. After casting and designing, the film took about eleven weeks to shoot "(Pride & Prejudice (2005 Film)"). One of the tag lines for this movie was: "Sometimes the last person on earth that you want to be with is the one person you can't be without" (Pride & Prejudice). The tag line sets up the theme of the actually pride and prejudice that takes place during the film. Darcy's prejudice towards Elizabeth's family almost ruins Jane and Bingley's relationship, and most importantly it almost ruins Darcy's chances with Elizabeth. Likewise, Elizabeth's prideful nature and anger towards Darcy nearly destroys any romantic relationship that could go on between them. There are two lessons to be learned from their pride and prejudice. One, never judge a book by its cover. Darcy did not have any interest in Elizabeth because of her family's poverty. But, when he gets to know her he falls in undying love with her. From Elizabeth's pride issue, audiences can learn the lesson of forgiveness. Yes, Darcy was wrong and he should have judged the Bennet's so harshly. But because Elizabeth did not forgive him, she missed out on having more happy times with him. Luckily, she forgives him and they spend the rest of their lives together. Pride and Prejudice also expresses to its audiences that it does not matter what social class one is in. People are free to love whoever they want. Pride and Prejudice resembles all of the other films that have been adapted from Jane Austen books; such as, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abby, and Emma. All of these movies carry the same theme of sweet and innocent love between two unlikely people. The actors in the movie included Keira Knightly, Matthew Macfayden, Rosamund Pike, Simon Woods, Donald Southerland, and many more actors and actresses. Keira Knightly was choosen for the film because of her independent and boyish personality which reflected that of Elizabeth Bennet's personality. Matthew Macfayden was an unknown actor but was chosen because of his politness and properness which refelected Mr. Darcy's mannerisms ("Pride & Prejudice (2005 Film)"). Victoria Era in ''Pride and Prejudice'' Pride and Prejudice is set during the Victorian Era in Britain. This time period was influenced and named after Queen Victoria, who ruled from 1837-1901. Queen Victoria took on the throne after her uncle, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV_of_the_United_Kingdom King William IV, died. During her reign the England's economy grew, the industry expanded, and the empire became larger. The queen was loved by In the movie, the costumes are based on the early Victorian Era fashion. The dresses have "corsettted" and "natural" waist lines, and are colored based on each character's personality. For example, Elizabeth's costumes have natural earth tones to reflect her admiration of nature and her tom-boyish personality, while Mary wears all black and grey colors to illustrate her sad and dark personality. The hair- styles in Pride and Prejudice also mimick those from the Victorian Era. The early styles were beautiful, high and loose buns or up-do's that were often complimented with loose curls around the forehead. An example of these hairstyles can be seen in the ballroom scenes in the movie. Another hair accessory that was used was the bonnet (wikipedia). Social classes were also exemplified in the movie. The entire Bennet family represented the "working class." This class had no say in politics and had to work very hard for their income. The Bennet's run their own house, but they all have to pitch in and work. They have no servants, governess, or tutor. Mr. Darcy represents the "upper class". This class was extremely wealthy and was associated with royalty (the victorian web). Often, people from the upper class would throw grand balls for their town. During these balls, people from the working class would dance, while most of the wealthy would stand around and watch the other people dancing. Occasionally, people from the upper class would dance. For example, their is a scene in the movie where Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth dance together even though they are from different classes. Keira Knightly The cast of Pride and Prejudice consists of many British actors and actresses. Keira Knighlty got the rol e of Elizabeth Bennet, the lead character in the story. Elizabeth is a confident and independent minded girl. People think of her to be attractive, but not as beautiful as her sister Jane (Austen). Joe Wright wanted to find an actress who could fully embody the inspirational role. Knightly has become a well-known British actress because of her roles in Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates of the Carribean ("Kiera Knightly"). Knightly has always been a Jane Austen fan. As a child, she would listen to the books on "book tape" and her favorite book to listen to just so happen to be'' Pride and Prejudice''. Knighlty said that when she heard about the new movie in the works, she was "terrifed" because of messing up Elizabeth's character for the audience. She was also nervous because the role of Elizabeth would be her first leading role. Knightly felt pressured because the character is beloved and iconic to many people. Sh e went to her agents and pleaded with them not to let her audition for the role. But, they made her audition anyway. Knightly almost did not recieve the part because the director thought that she was "to pretty" for the role. But when he met her in person he thought that she was fine for the role. Knightly said that when she met Wright, she was "looking scruffy" in a bar working on one of her other movies. Preparing for the movie Preparing for the role took a lot of time. Not only had Knighlty listened to the book on tape as a child. She also read the book when she was fourteen and loved the BBC version of the movie. She admired Jennifer Ehle's in the BBC version, who also played Elizabeth Bennet. Knightly said, " I thought I'm just going to do an absolute copy of Jennifer Ehle's performance and that would be awful." In order to further her knowledge of the Jane Austen era and performance of Elizabeth, Knightly took etiquette classes and had meetings with historians who taught about the culture and history of the Victorian Era (Roman). As a result of Knightly's hardwork and dedication, critics loved her in this movie. One critic said, "New British star Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Bennet))excels in her first real leading actress role ably supported by fellow Brit Rosamund Pike (Jane Bennet) as the sisters supportive of each other's & their Bennett family problems. Knightly "excelled because of her love of Elizabeth's character. She loved Elizabeth because Elizabeth is relatable to everyone. She can be smart, romantic, charming, independent, strong, and beautiful. But at the same time she can be immensly annoying, stubborn, and judgemental. Knightly portrayed the character perfectly and successfully captivated the audience with her believability and acting abilities. Scene Analysis Character Analysis: At the beginning of the scene, Elizabeth walks towards a bridge in the British country side. Her wardrobe consists of a ghostly white night gown and a black over coat. Her brown hair is tied into a braid. She seems like she is tired, because she has been up all wardrobe thinking about her relationship with Mr. Darcy. As she makes her way to the bridge, she looks over left shoulder and then she comes to an abrubt stop on the bridge. She has a very surprised look on her face. Then, Mr. Darcy walks in from the opposite side of the field. His attire consists of a flowy white shirt, the color of the shirt matches Elizabeth's night gown, and brown pants. The bottom of the pants are rolled up. Darcy and Elizabeth meet at the bridge. Elizabeth seems sad, while Darcy seems eager to clear the air and to ask her a question. As Darcy and Elizabeth converse, Darcy asks Elizabeth if she has changed her mind and loves him. If she does not love him, then he will leave alone forever. His question places her at a high status because she now determines his happiness and his fate, which put him at a low status. Elizabeth admits that she loves him in return, which puts them both on equal status. Elizabeth grabs his hand and kisses it. He grabs the back of her head and they put their faces together. By the end of the scene, both are calm and happy as oppose to the beginning of the scene where both were either sad, eager, or anxious. This scene is the most pivital scene in the movie because the happy ending finally becomes reached and Darcy rids himself of his prejudice towards Elizabeth and she throws away her pride towards him. Setting Analysis: The scenes in Pride and Prejudice are shown in order. Everything takes place in chronologicals and there are no flashbacks or fowards in the movie. The chronological order gives the audience a clear understanding of the plot. The scene is shot in the British country side during the early morining. This scene is taking place in the beautiful country side, during this peaceful morning, because both of these characters experience a moment of clarity. The beautiful confession of love shared between the both of them needed to occur in the gorgeous scenery that is provided by the English country side. The setting provides a scene that is pleasing to the eyes of the people in the audience and fits the magical moment perfectly. Misen: The scene shows Elizabeth walking towards a wooden bridge at the bottom of a green hill. The director chose for them to meet at the bottom of the hill because it is calm and serene and both characters were ridge for clarity. The director chose the ridge as the meeting place where they unite and confess their love for each other. The bridge symbolizes the "bridging" of their romantic relationship. The colors of the scene play a big role in symbolism. When Elizabeth walks in the scene, the colors are deep blue and a sullen gray. When darcy enters the colors brighten up and the sun begins to rise. When they are holding each other at the end of the scene, the sun rises in the sky and all of the colors become happy and bright. Camera Angles: ''' The camera faces the bridge at the start of the scene. Elizabeth walks into the shot and makes her way to the bridge. The camera is facing her back. When she gets on the bridge, the camera focuses on her face. Then, when she notices Darcy, the camera focuses on him walking through the field. He starts in far away and gets closer to the camera. When they meet at the bridge the camera stays focused on Darcy and then switches to Elizabeth. As they converse, the camera shot is a face shot of whoever is talking. But, when Darcy begins to profess his love for Elizabeth, the camera focuses on her. As he finishes his confession, the camera focuses on his face again. Then when Elizabeth and Darcy hold each other, the camera shoots them together at an up-close side angle. '''Music: The music of this movie had its own original soundtrack and consisted of a classical style of music. The music had no singers and was created by instruments. When Elizabeth is walking through the field, the music reflects her mood. It is sullen and sorrowful. The audience can also hear birds chirping and rushing water. When Darcy walks in the picture, the piano starts playing. The beat is quick and it immediatly picks up a happier tune. When they speak to each other the music becomes quieter and is calming. When Darcy and Elizabeth touch, the music is happy yet peaceful, to reflect the happiness of the two characters. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Modern Library, 1995. Print Fetters, Sara M. "Its Austen All Over Again." MovieFreak.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. Hoggard, Liz. "Meet the Puppet Master." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 10 Sept. 2005. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. "Joe Wright Bio." Joe Wright Biography and Filmography. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. "Keira Knightley." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. "Pride and Prejudice (2005) - Box Office Mojo." Pride and Prejudice (2005) - Box Office Mojo. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. "Pride & Prejudice (2005 Film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. "Pride & Prejudice." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. Roman, Julian. "Keira Knightley Talks Pride and Prejudice." MovieWeb. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013 "2005 DOMESTIC GROSSES." ''2005 Yearly Box Office Results. ''N.p., n.d. Web. 21 March. 2013. Section heading Write the first section of your page here. Section heading Write the second section of your page here.